Town officials balk at study of expanded Loop

If the John Nesbitt Loop in Wrightsville Beach is going to be widened, it will have to be done on the inside, away from traffic, transportation officials said this week.

Shannan Bowenshannan.bowen@starnewsonline.com

If the John Nesbitt Loop in Wrightsville Beach is going to be widened, it will have to be done on the inside, away from traffic, transportation officials said this week.But if it’s going to happen at all, just studying the idea will be further down the road.On Monday, the town’s parks and recreation director will update the parks advisory committee on the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen’s decision not to move forward this year with a study of widening of the popular walking and running path. .The board voted 3-2 at its October meeting against applying for a grant to conduct a feasibility study that would have included a series of public meetings to gather input.Widening the 2.45 miles of pavement, which stretches along Causeway Drive, Salisbury Street and North Lumina Avenue, has been discussed for more than a year, parks and recreation supervisor Katie Ryan said.The committee voted to ask the town board to approve an application for funds from the N.C. Department of Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning Grant Initiative, which had a deadline of Dec. 3, Ryan said.But some town officials didn’t think residents want the Loop widened, and some said they needed more information before applying for the study grant.Alderwoman Susan Collins said at the town’s October meeting that she was concerned about more people using the Loop and searching for parking spaces. “Bigger and larger and more people could be a big problem for us here,” she said.Alderman Bill Sisson, who voted in favor of the grant application, said the town needed a comprehensive pedestrian plan, whether or not it decides to widen the Loop.While the town has recently completed its bicycle path plan, a comprehensive pedestrian plan does not exist, Ryan said.One option for expanding the Loop could add a bicycle path to it. Alderwoman Lisa Weeks, who also voted in favor of the grant application, said the town isn’t bike-friendly now. “I ride my bike a lot around the beach. You’re taking your life in your hands to cross the bridges,” she said. One change the town could implement sooner than a feasibility study is taking down the railings on the portion of the Loop on the Salisbury Street bridge.At the town board’s meeting Wednesday with DOT officials, Weeks said the railings on the Salisbury Street bridge create a tight space for people using that area of the Loop. DOT officials said the railings could be removed because they did not meet any DOT standard and were built long ago.Ryan said there were no other options on the table for moving forward, but she said the advisory committee could discuss other alternatives at its Monday meeting. There are no funds in the budget for conducting a feasibility study or pedestrian plan, she said.